“How would you define in one?” I asked Brampton Beast head coach Colin Chaulk the question in his office, shortly before his team ended a brutal three-games-in-three-days road trip.

“How do you feel right now?” he said, smiling, knowing I hadn’t slept in nearly three days.

I had spent several days with the Beast over the previous three months and heard players and staff use the term in one again and again. It was their rallying cry. It carried them through their lowest points.

But it wasn’t until then — after more than 80 hours of absolute misery embedded with this last-place ECHL team — that I finally understood what it meant to be in one.

In one is a feeling. It’s the product of life in the ECHL, the low-paying, minor league two rungs below the NHL. It’s the result of sleep deprivation and road trips where everything that can go wrong does. It’s doing what you love for a fraction of what most pro players make and...

SALE: Free trial and 30% off

Try The Athletic free for a week to get access to this article and more smart, in-depth coverage. Read and support quality journalism with this limited-time offer.